Program directory · Employment and Social Development Canada
Labour Standards
- Department
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Program code
- BGP05 (HRSD)
- Core responsibility
- Working Conditions and Workplace Relations
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
This program supports the administration and enforcement of labour standards (Part III of the Canada Labour Code) in the federal jurisdiction. These labour standards define the minimum conditions of employment. The program develops educational materials to assist employers and employees about their obligations and rights. This program also investigates complaints of possible contraventions of Part III of the Canada Labour Code. The Program officers also conduct proactive inspections of employer records to verify compliance, while targeting those employers with a history of non-compliance. The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) contributes to the dispute resolution process when it becomes necessary to hear unjust dismissal complaints and to hear wage recovery appeals.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Standards | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $211M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Indicators added: Percentage of total hours spent on proactive activities | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of all Labour Standards activities devoted to prevention; Three-year average number of violations under Part III of the Canada Labour Code per 1,000 federally regulated employees. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Spending $29.7M, against $23.2M in 2019-20 (+28%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators added: Percentage of case hours spent on proactive activities | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of total hours spent on proactive activities | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators added: Percentage of total hours spent on proactive activities | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of case hours spent on proactive activities | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | ≥ 10% | 2020 | 8% The target was not met because proactive activities were suspended for two years. Now that activities have resumed, there was an increase in total hours of 2% compared to last year. | Not met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 8% | 2021 | 3% The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a negative impact on the Labour Affairs Standard Officers (LAO)'s ability to conduct proactive activities. The 3% level of proactive work is due to the considerable amount of time the LAOs spent on reactive work, thus limiting their ability to undertake proactive activities, even virtually. | Not met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 8% | 2022 | 5.3% Proactive time work continues to be measured against total reactive time worked. Although total proactive hours completed increases yearly, the amount of reactive time also increases which results in a percentage outcome below the target. Reducing unassigned inventory and closing files active over 365 days remains a priority for regions. | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 8% | 2023 | 11% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 8% | 2024 | 12% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | ≥ 10% | 2025 | 11% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 10% | 2019 | 6% Given limited resources, including Labour Program inspectors, less proactive work was undertaken in 2018-19 as resources were re-allocated towards addressing reactive work, specifically the backlog in monetary complaints. As backlog is reduced, resources will be reallocated accordingly. | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≤ 5% | 2019 | 2.9% | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 10% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $19.3M | $20.3M |
| 2019-20 | $17.4M | $23.2M |
| 2020-21 | $27.5M | $29.7M |
| 2021-22 | $30.4M | $32.4M |
| 2022-23 | $27.2M | $31.2M |
| 2023-24 | $30.2M | $36.9M |
| 2024-25 | $35.7M | $37.6M |
| 2025-26 | $35.6M | — |
| 2026-27 | $31.5M | — |
| 2027-28 | $30.4M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $26.8M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 201 | 199 |
| 2019-20 | 184 | 222 |
| 2020-21 | 280 | 266 |
| 2021-22 | 277 | 270 |
| 2022-23 | 285 | 277 |
| 2023-24 | 304 | 294 |
| 2024-25 | 337 | 302 |
| 2025-26 | 327 | — |
| 2026-27 | 301 | — |
| 2027-28 | 291* | — |
| 2028-29 | 254* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $19,290,230 | $17,162,148 | $16,850,987 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $17,374,804 | $16,863,575 | $16,852,262 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $27,518,718 | $29,169,401 | $26,553,601 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $30,366,404 | $27,698,907 | $28,908,768 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $27,245,717 | $28,455,578 | $28,455,578 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $30,185,244 | $29,819,592 | $28,459,340 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $35,704,057 | $34,379,059 | $34,219,181 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $35,582,546 | $35,014,220 | $35,024,765 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $31,516,256 | $30,369,441 | $26,750,167 | ||||||||
| Actual | $20,293,149 | $23,240,137 | $29,725,155 | $32,402,069 | $31,226,603 | $36,916,013 | $37,615,519 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
